Fish Fillet in Hot Broth - 水煮鱼片

When the craze for Sichuanese food took China by storm in the late 1990s, this dish took center stage.

It's a dramatic centerpiece of poached fish in a great sea of sizzling oil, thick with dried chilies and Sichuan pepper. The pieces of fish should be picked out of the fragrant oil with chopsticks: the oil itself is not meant to be eaten.